keun said. The union wants limits placed on so-called positioning, or «deadhead,» hours, the time spent traveling by air to locations from where pilots are scheduled to fly aircraft, with that time eventually counted as total flying hours. The Asiana strike, which began July 17, has been costly for the airline, forcing it to cancel all its cargo flights, about half of its domestic flights as well as numerous lucrative international passenger flights during the peak summer travel season. The airline said Tuesday it was canceling 262 international flights for the month of August and has entirely suspended service on some routes, including to and from Sydney, Australia. Asiana estimates losses from the strike could total 201 billion won (US$194 million; ¤157 million) through Aug. 7. A total of 45,000 passengers will probably have been affected, the airline estimates. Asiana has been operating flights with nonunion pilots and union members who haven't joined the walkout. About 500 of the airline's more than 800 pilots belong to the union, but not all have participated in the strike. The union says about 400 pilots have joined the walkout. The number of flight suspensions has steadily increased and the airline last week canceled more than half its domestic routes. Asiana also canceled flights to New York and San Francisco for the first time last weekend.
